Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) continued to offer sharp critiques of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) leadership yesterday, saying that she believed the party was becoming more “undemocratic.”
“The DPP has been beaten by the ‘democratic regressive party,’” she said of the DPP National Congress, which passed a controversial change on Saturday phasing out a party member vote in primaries. “It has already become a blemish on the [party’s] history.”
She also said that Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) was “not that important,” after the DPP caucus whip proposed that a future presidential nomination should be settled through a party-wide consensus.
Lu and her backers show no sign of stopping their criticism despite the revision being overwhelmingly passed by party delegates.
Future election nominations will be settled solely through public telephone polls, replacing a party member vote.
Following a visit to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in Taipei Prison yesterday, Lu said that he agreed with her.
“Chen pointed out that it was a very serious issue if a political party no longer needed its members,” she said. “It’s democracy going backwards.”
The DPP and by extension Tsai, should not underestimate party members’ anger at seeing their votes taken away, Lu said.
A statement by former presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming’s (辜寬敏) office staff released yesterday compared Tsai to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), saying the two were becoming “more and more alike.”
“Tsai, backed by public polls, has become a media darling ... she has so much self-confidence that she believes she can successfully ram through [revisions] without any communication,” said office director Lin Yi-cheng (林宜正), a former DPP deputy secretary-general.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
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